In the Nation

Issa: Subpoenas are due soon

WASHINGTON - The chairman of the House oversight committee said Sunday that he could send subpoenas to the Obama administration as soon as this week over weapons lost amid the Mexican drug war.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) suggested on Fox News Sunday that Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. knew about the gun-trafficking operation known as Fast and Furious earlier than he has acknowledged.

In the 2009 operation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives let intermediaries for drug cartels buy thousands of weapons from Arizona gun shops and lost track of about 1,400 of the 2,000 guns. Two assault rifles bought by a now-indicted small-time buyer under scrutiny in the operation turned up at a shootout in Arizona where Customs and Border Protection agent Brian Terry was killed. - AP

Calif. raises tanning-bed age

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California girls who dream about sun-kissed skin must wait until they turn 18 before they can get the effect from tanning beds under a new law.

Gov. Jerry Brown announced Sunday that he had signed into law a bill that prevents children under 18 from using the tanning method. The law takes effect Jan. 1.

Under current law, children 14 and under in California already cannot use the beds, but those ages 15 to 17 can do so with permission from their parents. Ban supporters said the higher age limit is needed because skin damage caused by the type of radiation used in tanning beds often leads to melanoma, a skin cancer that can be fatal. - AP

Museum reopens after protests

WASHINGTON - The National Air and Space Museum was open for business and crowded with visitors a day after demonstrators swarmed the building to protest a drone exhibit.

The museum closed early Saturday afternoon after security guards used pepper spray to repel more than 100 demonstrators who were told they could not enter the building while carrying signs.

The group that arrived at the museum Saturday included those taking part in the October 2011 Stop the Machine demonstration in the city's Freedom Plaza, which has an antiwar and anticorporate-greed message. - AP

Tribal vote count continuing

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - The man trying to unseat the chief of one of the nation's largest American Indian tribes was ahead after initial vote counts Sunday, but it was too early to declare a winner in an election that has been marred by complications. The unofficial tally showed Cherokee Nation councilman Bill John Baker with 61 percent with 6,223 votes compared with 4,046 votes for former Principal Chief Chad Smith.

But as many as 12,000 absentee ballots must be counted. The winner may not be known until Wednesday. - AP